Just four days ago I got my first Iguana. Along with him I bought Iguanas for dummies (the book) to learn more about what I needed to do to care for him.

So far all seems good. I just found that he needed a shallower water bowl to drink from. I thought that he was never drinking, but when I placed the shallower bowl in he snuck a drink when he thought I wasn't looking.

He is only about 5 inches long. Very young and I want to train him right. The last thing I want is for him to become aggressive to the point in which I can't keep him.

What I am looking for is any words of advice? Right now he is in a 10 gallon aquarium tank and I was wondering if I really need to make his enclosure larger now or if I can wait a little longer? Also, as for heating: right now I have a basking light and a UVB light that is on during the day. I am going to install thermometers to make sure that the temps are right. At night he has a red 50 watt heat bulb. Is this strong enough? I am worried that his environment is not warm enough. One other problem I am having is that today for the first time he began to see his shadow in the glass and began scratching it with his claws...what can I do to prevent this? Other than that any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks...just want to raise a healthy cared for iguana.

Steph

first of all, congrats on the iggy. Second, i don't mean to be a sourpuss but it's ALWAYS better to read up and know how to care for your animal BEFORE you get it. From what you have said (i.e not knowing that they need a water bowl) it sounds like you have not done this but I may be wrong and I am sorry if I am. A 10 gal should be fine for now but keep in mind that iggies get up to 6 feet long and will eventually need an enclosure the size of a small room. That's about where my knoweledge of iguanas ends. Please read that book over and over and over and over again. You can NEVER do too much research!!!!

Best of luck,

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-Adam

"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

Hello and welcome to Herpcenter! Igs for dummies is a great book, as well as James Hatfield's Green Iguanas the Ultimate Owners Manual. Also check out our care page. http://www.herpcenter.com/a/

Aquariums are the worst choice for an iguana that there is, despite what the pet store will tell you! The 10 gallon tank is too small to acheive the temperature gradient the ig needs to be healthy.

Igs live in the trees and like height! In their mind being on the ground means they are in danger. That 10 gal tank is not going to last long, maybe a month or 2 at the most. Healthy baby iguanas literally explode in growth and you would swear taht you could actually see them growing!! You would be best off going ahead and building the cage needed for the ig as an adult. Within a year it will be in the neighborhood of 4 ft.

You are putting the cart before the horse! The thermometers should have been in place before you put the iguana in. Temperature with reptiles is critical. Without the thermometers you have no idea whether you are freezing or cooking the iguana! You need to know for sure what the temp is...now. And forget the cheap tapes that you stick on the side of the glass. They are worthless. Get you a digital with a remote probe and a minimum/maximum function. Available at Walmart, Lowes Home Depot etc, for about 10 bucks.
What type of UVB light are you using? There are a lot of lights on the market that mislead you as to what they really do.
It could be that it sees it's reflection but most likely it is just confused by the glass. Reptile mind's seems to work under the assumption that if they can see thru it they should be able to walk through it. When it stops them it confuses them. You might try putting paper around the bottom of the glass to create a visual block.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Ditto Merlin....great advice. Welcome to the world of Iguanas. Its not an easy road, but a very rewarding one. Glad you want to care properly for your little green guy. Let us know if you have any other questions...Lyn

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

Thanks for all the good advice. Unfortunately I didn't know a lot about Iguanas before I got one. We went to the pet store and asked a million questions and thought we were getting the right information before we chose to buy him.

I am a little worried still about the reflection in the glass. I have put up paper around the outside and he still will begin to scratch and try to climb the walls of the glass. I read that he can danger himself. Is there anything I can do to help him? Also I am going to go out and get a bigger tank. I will be moving next summer and plan on making his permanent tank when I move. For now though I need something else than a 10 galloner. Is it okay to get a larger tank until then? Any suggestions?

One other thing...I'm worried that he's not eating or drinking. He has a water bowl that I saw him go in once. As for food I put it in and I see him eat rarely and the UVB light seems to dry the food out within a couple hours. Should I be worried? He is strong when we lift him out of the tank and seems alert. Once he is in our hands for maybe 30 seconds he closes his eyes and you hardly have to hold on to him. He seems to enjoy the petting. Does he sound healthy to you? I'm worried that he is too skinny. Any idea how much a vet check up would cost?

Thanks for all the help. I want to do him right but am worried that I'm missing something.

One other thing...when do you begin giving baby iguanas bathes?

Stephanie

try using PVC pipes and plastic coated screen to make a larger screened in enclosure. I think I remember the link to a website that walks through the construction step by step on the iguana caresheet in herpcenter's caresheet section. What kinds of vegetables are you feeding him?

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-Adam

"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

Unless he's really violent about it I wouldn't worry too much about the scratching at the glass. it's smooth enough that it shouldn't cause problems. Where you get in trouble is them rubbing their noses on rough surfaces like the wire mesh used in some enclosures.
I would really see about going ahead and making the larger adult size enclosure and making it portable. If you keep getting consecutively larger tanks you are really wasting money that you could use to build a nice one time enclosure.
Most pet iguanas rarely drink from a bowl. They get most of their moisture from the fresh greens veggies and fruits that they eat. It is also not unusual for new keepers to not see the iguana eat. He is still scared of you and is probably eating when you aren't around. If you are unsure as to whether he is eating then reduce the size of the portions you feed to make sure that he is eating .

Iguanas don't really enjoy petting, its more something they tolerate. When the iguana closes his eyes he is making the big bad monster (you) disappear. Its their way of de-stressing. A healthy baby iguana will not usually just go limp in your hands but will struggle a bit.

The cost of the vet is not set in stone. Different vets charge different prices for the same service. Some vets seem to think that by tacking on the word "Exotics" to their practice they can really gouge you with pricing. You just have to call around and talk to them.

You can give an iguana a bath anytime. Make sure the water isn't too hot or too deep. Just enough to barely come up to the shoulders. And be prepared for the iguana to poop in the water! you will need to drain the water immediately and disinfect the tub.

Your remarks about the UVB light drying the food makes me wonder if it is indeed a UVB producing bulb. What is the brand name of the bulb?

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

How do you make the larger cage portable? Aren't they usually very large?

As for handling him...he does try to get out of your hands at first and puts quite a fight up, but after a little while he just closes his eyes and seems to enjoy it. Should I not be handling him yet?

Also I did see him eat this morning. I watched from behind a wall so he couldn't see me. And the bath? Can I use something like a large pail ( anew one) for his bathing since he is so small? And is it important that I teach him to bath at an early age?

The UVB light is a 2.0 Exotera repti glo light 15W. His other lights are I believe 50W. Is that enough and when I make his tank bigger, do I need stronger lights?

Thank you for all the help.
Steph

How do you make the larger cage portable? Aren't they usually very large
With pvc pipes and screen they can be collapsed and taken from location to location and set up again

As for handling him...he does try to get out of your hands at first and puts quite a fight up, but after a little while he just closes his eyes and seems to enjoy it. Should I not be handling him yet?


Its ok to handle him now in fact it is encouraged. Closing of the eyes is NOT showing that he is relaxed it is showing that he is blocking the stress out as I said it is ok to hold him but try not to "pet" him so much that he is stressed.

Also I did see him eat this morning. I watched from behind a wall so he couldn't see me. And the bath? Can I use something like a large pail ( anew one) for his bathing since he is so small? And is it important that I teach him to bath at an early age

I am glad to hear that he is eating are you using any vitamins on the food? What are you feeding him? Not a large pail the water should only go up to his shoulders so tupperware container should be fine. This water must be cleaned out every other day, unless he uses the bathroom in it then you need to clean it at LEAST once a day. As for baths there is no teaching involved it is just getting him used to being in the tub.

The UVB light is a 2.0 Exotera repti glo light 15W. His other lights are I believe 50W. Is that enough and when I make his tank bigger, do I need stronger lights?

You need a thermometer to test the temps in the cage, I am not sure I have heard of the bulb before I always use 5.0 so I cant help you with that.

Hope this helps.

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Love Always,
Audrey

Owned By,

1.0.0 Iguana Iguana -Louie
0.0.1 Avicularia avicularia (pink toe Trantula)-Muffy
0.1.0 Ceratophrys ornata (Pac Man Frog)-Sparticus
1.0.0 Albino Rat -conspericy
0.1.0 Betta-Alphie
0.0.1 Apple snail- Mr. Bubbles
1.1.0 Mutt puppy's- Socks & Meeko
1.0.0 fieance-Brett

Firstly, welcome to the forum!

Secondly congratulations on your new pet.. but I have to agree with geckoguy - you really should have researched and researched before buying the ig; the number one cause of these animals being neglected or mistreated or becoming ill is because their owners haven't properly researched them. Also never rely on what a pet shop tells you - they rarely seem to give out the correct advice and instead spend all of the energy on trying to get you to shell out the most amount of money.

BUT.. good on you for coming to us to try and get the right advice about your ig; you are being responsible and caring and you obviously already love the ig, and by asking for advice on here you are making sure that you will look after it as well as it deserves to be.

One more thing before I actually give advice ... welcome to slavery! You are not the owner of the ig, it is the owner of you!

Ok, I'm not an expert on igs; there are other people on this forum who can give you better advice than I on their care, but having recently co-written an article about UV lighting I can tell you that you need to replace that UV bulb now!! .. a reptiglo 2.0 will not provide the amount of UVB that is required from an iguana. I would eventually recomment that you get a megaray - see http://www.reptileuv.com - but you will need a much larger enclosure for the ig before you invest in this bulb as it needs to be at least 12" away from the animal and boots out a lot of UVB! For now go for something like a reptiglo 5.0 or 8.0, the 2.0 isn't giving him enough UVB to grow properly and healthily.

Secondly, a vet check or a faecal exam would be beneficial, just to make sure that the ig is initially healthy and well. A faecal exam won't cost you much at all and the vet can give you the all clear or give you treatment for any parasites.. whichever, at least then you can be sure that you are starting off with a healthy animal, rather than trying your best for an animal that is unwell from previous care and not knowing about it until it's too late.

I really wish you all the best with your ig, and I'm sure it will have a wonderful home in your care. I think it's really commendable that you are doing your best to put right what the pet shop has done wrong, and I hope you continue to post here and let us know how the little guy gets on..

One last thing (boy I can rant for England!!) ..obviously no one has told you yet, but .. a photo (of yourself and of the ig!) is compulsory when you join here!

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"If you know everything you may as well blow your brains out because the reason for existence is to learn more everyday." - Mark O'Shea, 2004